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Chaur
Chaur was a huge man with a pocked face which was also described as looking ugly and monstrous. He was a simpleton with the mind of a child. The sight of blood had never bothered him.The Bonehunters, Chapter 12, UK MMPB p.607The Bonehunters, Chapter 14, UK MMPB p.674/676 Chaur was a mute but capable of making various sounds, including laughter.The Bonehunters, Chapter 19, UK MMPB p.912/914/915 He was usually very good natured and fiercely loyal. Chaur was also very stubborn.The Bonehunters, Chapter 16, UK MMPB p.782 Chaur lived in a tiny hamlet at a crossroads of the Tapur Road and a trail leading into the Path'apur Mountains in Seven Cities. About three days' trek north was the city of Ahol Tapur. The blacksmith of the settlement was Barathol Mekhar who seemed to be Chaur's de facto guardian.The Bonehunters, Chapter 12 In The Bonehunters A small travelling party was ambushed by T'lan Imass near the hamlet and Chaur, Fenar and Urdan were tasked with stripping and butchering the dead horses left in their wake. Chaur was briefly stopped from dealing with one horse by Barathol as the blacksmith wanted to look at tracks surrounding it which made Chaur fidget and whine. When told he could continue Chaur smiled brightly.The Bonehunters, Chapter 12, UK MMPB p.605-608 One of the survivors of the ambush, Scillara gave birth to a baby and sometime later, Barathol observed Chaur holding it, making faces and cooing sounds to the little one. When L'oric took the child away from him, Chaur sat there crying. Barathol made a sarcastic comment to the mage on his return when he saw that L'oric had not even noticed Chaur crying, "A question... how old do they have to get before you lose all sympathy for them?", then diverted Chaur by telling him that he would need his help digging up a body, which at least brought a half-smile to the simpleton's face as he liked shovelling. They went to disinter Heboric's body who had died in the ambush, the task bringing the smile back to Chaur's face.The Bonehunters, Chapter 14, UK MMPB p.673/674/676-679 Chaur decided to follow Barathol when the smith left the hamlet to accompany Cutter and Scillara who were taking Heboric's body to its final resting place. He caught up with them soon after they had left and Barathol let him stay with the group, knowing that Chaur was too stubborn to return. The smith attached Chaur's travelling pack to the mule and gave him his boots as Chaur was barefoot, and unlike the rest of them, would have to walk for the time being. Scillara suggested that she would make some sandals out of Bhederin hide for Chaur that evening. Chaur seemed to be unfamiliar with wearing footwear and struggled to get the boots on.The Bonehunters, Chapter 16, UK MMPB p.782/783 During a stop close to the coast, Chaur stroked Scillara's hair and watched with fascination as she exhaled smoke (from smoking Rustleaf). Later that morning, never having heard the ocean before, Chaur was circling the camp with excitement, wondering about the unusual sounds he could hear. When he finally saw the sea, he stood routed to the spot for quite some time, smiling, with tears streaming down his face. He was making strange mewling sounds, almost as if he was singing.The Bonehunters, Chapter 19, UK MMPB p.910-912 They came to an abandoned village on the coast where Cutter found a carrack, Sanal's Grief, which was loaded up. When they were under sail, Chaur held onto the steering oar and laughed with joy whenever the bow pitched down and there was spray. The innocence of his joy gave much needed comfort to his shipmates.The Bonehunters, Chapter 19, UK MMPB p.914/915 In Toll the Hounds Chaur ended up in Darujhistan with Barathol. When the latter was imprisoned, Chaur took Barathol's large war-axe and went looking for the smith. He found Barathol caught in the middle of a fight between the Hound of Light, Pallid and the Hound of Shadow, Baran which had demolished much of the prison he was held in. Seeing his friend about to be killed by Pallid, Chaur hurtled into the dog. Picking himself up again, he flung the axe at Barathol then faced an enraged Pallid armed just with a stone. Although the stone struck the beast's nose, its momentum slammed it into Chaur who was flung against a wall and a sickening crunch was heard. Chaur's action saved Barathol as the two hounds carried their fight off to another part of town but Chaur was unconscious and dying having cracked his skull during the impact. When the alchemist Baruk failed to be of help, Antsy suggested they take Chaur to the new Azath House in the city. Whilst unconscious, Chaur's brain for a brief time made new connections, a suggestion of an intelligence Chaur had not possessed in his life. After a brief haggle, the guardian of the house, Raest, allowed them to place Chaur inside the hallway which as Antsy explained to Barathol would mean his body would be kept in stasis, allowing them time to find a healer.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 21, UK HB p.769Toll the Hounds, Chapter 23, UK HB p.841-843, 849-853 In Orb Sceptre Throne Chaur was retrieved from the Azath House by Rallick Nom and, according to Raest, he left physically hale and mentally as he came in.Orb Sceptre Throne, Chapter 21, UK lg. PB p.820/821 He was reunited with Barathol Mekhar and went on to Barathol's new villa (likely curtesy of Kruppe) with him, little Chaur and Scillara.Orb Sceptre Throne, Epilogue, UK lg. PB p.837/838 Notes and references Category:Males Category:Seven Cities natives